Memories
by KyokoKitten
Summary: OC. Takes place right after my first fic. Sephiroth finds yet another way to come back. M for blood and such in later chapters. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. I only own the characters Kyo and Kei that I made up myself.

This story pretty much starts off where my last one ended.

- - - - - - -

Chapter 1

Kyo had been home from the hospital for about a week. She'd already begun to train herself to regain her strength. She'd been out of commission for so long that she'd become pretty weakened. She hated feeling that way. Cloud and Tifa hated the fact that she was putting so much strain on herself, but she assured them that she was fine, and they decided not to push it.

She'd just returned from one of her morning training sessions. It was around noon now. She lay down on her bed and stretched out. She was exhausted. She knew she was working herself way too hard, but she wanted to be ready for whatever was to come. She let out a long drawn out sigh and closed her eyes. As she began to drift off she heard a light tap on her door. She opened her eyes and sat up,

"Hm?"

"You have a visitor." Tifa's voice said from the other side of the door.

Kyo sighed, "Come in…"

The door opened and in walked the tall, red haired Turk.

Kyo smiled, "Reno."

"Hey," He raised an eyebrow, noticing she looked really tired, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," She paused, "So…what'd you come to see me for?"

"I brought you something." He reached into his coat, "These are for you." He held out a new pair of goggles, "I found the other ones in the reactor…I figured you could use some new ones."

She took them and examined them,

"Thanks, Reno…" She smiled a bit,

"You want the old ones don't you?"

"Just for…y'know…memory's sake."

He reached into his jacket again and pulled them out, he knew she'd probably want them, and handed them to her. She carefully took the busted goggles from him. They'd been slashed right up the middle. It 

took her a moment to realize that the goggles had saved her from certain death. She slowly dragged her gaze from them,

"Thanks, Reno."

"No problem. I'd better get going, wouldn't want Tseng getting on my case."

Kyo laughed.

"Anyway, I'll see you soon. And when I do… you'd better not be in the hospital again…"

"Yes, sir."

"You should consider joining us someday. You'd make a great Turk."

"Shh…don't let my dad hear you say that…"

"Right." He laughed, "See ya, Kyo."

"Bye."

He walked out, shutting the door as he left.

Kyo laid back down, holding the broken goggles over her head,

"Wow, such a small thing saved me."

She yawned, really only halfway believing that was true. She rolled over onto her side and drifted off to sleep.

- - - - - - -

Yo ran through pitch darkness. She could see absolutely nothing. Even though it seemed like a wide open space, she felt clostrophobic. It was a very strange feeling. She finally stopped and just stood in the darkness for what seemed like a very long time. She was beginning to feel slightly more comfortable, until she heard heavy footsteps walking toward her. Her first instinct was to hide, but there seemed to be nothing but darkness to hide behind.

A light flickered on, startling her. She was in a very wide open space. But it was very clean and metallic and glass. On inspection there seemed to be no way out. She looked around, but couldn't see anyone. Suddenly a terrible pain filled her chest. She looked down to see the Masamune sticking out of the center of her chest. She quickly turned her head, no one was there, and the sword was gone. No wound was there either,

"What the hell…"

She reached over her shoulder for her sword, but it wasn't there,

"Looking for this?" A voice whispered in her ear.

She heard the clang of metal across the room as her sword was thrown. Panic began to run through her,

"Don't worry…It will only hurt until I'm bored with you."

She looked around frantically. The room was bright, but she couldn't see anyone. She started to go for her sword, when pain began to flow through her, the blade once again tearing through her. Suddenly blue-green catslit eyes flashed in front of her face,

"…No…" She said quietly, her voice stuck in her throat as the sword began to move through her.

- - - - - - -

So that's the first chapter…I couldn't find many good places to stop..this was one of the best…I'll update with more chapters soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kyo bolted awake, a small shriek escaping her lips,

"Kyo?" A voice said from the hall, "Are you alright?"

"Yes…" She said, just loud enough for Tifa to hear,

"Well, the bath is ready for you, if you want to go take one."

"Okay…"

She slowly got up and moved toward the door. Her legs felt weak, they were shaking. She slowly opened the door and walked into the hall. It was filled with orange light from the sunset outside. It had been a beautiful day. Every day since she left the hospital had been warm and sunny.

She made her way down stairs and to the bath. She opened the door and walked inside. It was warm and humid inside the room. The bath sat at the far side of the room with large frosted glass panels surrounding it. A wide mirror hung on the wall, all fogged up. A brown laundry basket sat behind the door. A shelf sat under the mirror.

She quickly undressed and threw her clothes in the basket. Then she pulled her hair out of the now messy ponytail. It fell over her shoulders. It was very long, went almost down to her hips. She took a quick glance in the mirror and noticed something. A huge scar on her chest, left on her body when Sephiroth attacked her. She ran her fingers over it, the memory still lingering in her mind, along with recent dream. She stood there a moment staring at it, until she pulled herself away from the mirror and toward the bathtub. She quickly washed her hair then got into the warm tub.

It was so deep that she was submerged up to her chin. Her hair floated on the top. She let out a long sigh. She wondered about the dream, and about how long she, her family, and her friends would be out of trouble.

She sat in the tub until Tifa knocked on the door and called her for dinner. She got out of the tub and wrapped herself and her hair in towels and ran up to her room.

She quickly went inside, closing the door behind her. There were some new clothes all neatly folded on her bed. She quickly put them on and took a quick look at them in the mirror. The top was a sleeveless lavender hooded shirt. 2 small angel wings outlined the hood in the front. She wore black shorts, 2 black belts with silver buckles sat on her hips. Thigh high black leg warmers held up by black belts with silver buckles were on her legs a bit under the shorts. They flared out wide at the bottom, covering her bare feet. She unwrapped the towel from her hair and pulled it back into a neat ponytail, her hair still covering her face on the left side. Her right eye glowing blue under a few strands of 2 toned brown hair. She smiled, loving the new clothes.

She ran downstairs to the bar and slid across the recently waxed wood floor, into a chair at the table,

"Kyo…" Tifa scolded, "Don't run in the house."

"Sorry mom," She spun around in the chair, "What's for dinner?"

"Fried Chicken."

"Yum!"

She brought a platter of chicken to the table, along with some rolls and potatoes. Even some salad, she'd been making Kyo eat a lot of vegetables lately,

"Cloud!" She called, "Come eat!"

She sat down and started to dish out food onto everyone's plates.

Cloud clambered down the stairs just as the other two started digging in. He sat down and started to eat too. Tifa looked up at him,

"What've you been doing all day?"

He glanced up, "Running errands."

"All day?"

"Yeah, I had a lot to do."

Tifa shook her head, "Alright."

Cloud turned his attention to Kyo, "How was your training today?"

"Alright, though I suppose I'm still getting tired to quickly."

"It'll take some time to get yourself strong again."

- - - - - - -

They finished eating a short time later and Kyo decided she was going to go out for awhile. Her parents were afraid after what happed the last time she went out at night, but they didn't want to keep her cooped up, so they let her go.

She walked out into the warm Midgar night. Their house was in a small suburban area of the upper plate, close to just about everything in the city. It was also the perfect place for the bar, they always had customers.

She walked the short distance to the busy part of the city. It was full of all kinds of shops and restaurants. She had a pocket full of Gil and was ready to do some shopping.

She wandered around for a little while until she came to a large shop. There were several kids her age standing around outside. One was standing off to the side, kind of by himself. She walked up to the door glancing at him.

He had short spiked black hair with his bangs falling on either side of his face. He had what looked like Mako blue eyes. He wore a dark blue tee shirt and black, wide legged, pants with black and white sneakers. He looked a lot like the picture of Zack her mom had, only maybe a few years younger. He looked at her and she quickly looked away and went inside.

It wasn't a huge store. It was full of clothes of all kinds as well as accessories and various other things. She looked around a bit until she found a rack of clothes she was interested in. She started to shuffle through them when she felt eyes fall on her. She turned around to see the guy she'd seen standing outside, standing right behind her,

"Oh," He said, a bit startled, "Hi."

"Hi."

"You're Kyo Strife, right?"

"Um…Yeah."

"I just know…you're kinda famous, so's your family."

"I guess so," She went back to looking at the clothes, "So what'd you want?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out."

"Maybe you should tell me your name first."

"Oh, right! I'm Kei."

"Okay, I'll hang out with you. Just, let me finish here."

"I guess I'll look around a bit too."

- - - - - - -

It took about 30 minutes for them to finish up at the store. They both had several large shopping bags. They walked outside the store. Kyo looked up at Kei, who was quite a bit taller than her,

"So, what'd you wanna do?"

"You wanna go eat?"

"I already ate…but I could go for some dessert."

He nodded, "I know a good place."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street.

- - - - - - -

They soon came to a small, outdoor, café. It seemed a little girly,

"This is the place you know?"

"Hey…I like it here…" He said, sounding a bit insulted.

Just then a young girl in a skimpy, short, pink maid uniform came out.

Kyo looked at Kei, "Now I see…"

He blushed.

The girl walked up to them, she looked a bit uncomfortable in her uniform,

"If you'll follow me, I'll get you a table."

They followed her into the small area and to a table away from the rest of the customers. She handed them each a menu and quickly went back inside.

The table was made of curled black iron with a glass top. The padded chairs were made to match. A votive candle in a blue holder and a vase of colorful flowers were in the center of the table.

Kyo stuck her nose in the menu. Kei looked at his too, but was looking more at Kyo. She glanced up to see him staring at her,

"Hm?"

"Wha?"

"Did you need something?"

"N-no…" He looked back down at his menu.

Just then the waitress came back,

"Are we ready to order?"

"Yeah." Kyo said, "I'll have a Strawberry Parfait."

"And I'll have Chocolate Cake." Kei said cheerfully.

She nodded, took their menus, and walked away again.

They sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes until Kyo thought of something to talk about,

"So, you already know about my parents…what about yours?"

"Mine…are both dead…"

"Oh…Sorry…"

"No…I never knew my parents…I was just sorta…made from their genes…"

"What? Really?"

"Yeah…I guess you could say that 3 things went into my creation."

"What are those?"

"My father was named Zack Fair…My mom was Aerith Gainsborough…And I was also given the S…" He stopped.

"The what?"

"Nothing, nothing, that's not important," He nodded behind her, "Besides, our food's coming."

She looked back to see the waitress now standing over her,

"Strawberry Parfait." She said quietly, as if trying to remember, and sitting it down in front of Kyo. She then sat the Chocolate Cake down in front of Kei,

"Please enjoy." She said as she walked away again.

"Anyway," Kyo continued, "Why'd they choose those two?"

"Well my Dad was special to Shin-Ra…and my Mom was an Ancient."

Kyo stirred her spoon around in her parfait, "My parents knew both of your parents…they were friends."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe it was, sorta, destiny for us to meet."

"Maybe." She said, taking a huge bite of her parfait.

- - - - - - -

After they ate they wandered around for a little while. Kyo took out her phone to check the time,

"Ah! I gotta get going!"

"So soon?" Kei asked.

"Yeah, my parents are gonna be mad."

"Hold on," He took out his phone, "Let's exchange numbers."

"Kay."

They switched phones, put in their numbers, and switched back,

"I'll call you tomorrow." Kei said.

"Alright," She said smiling, "See ya."

She ran off. Kei smiled, he'd finally found someone he could be friends with.

- - - - - - -

Kyo ran in the door of the house, kicking her shoes off at the door. Cloud was watching TV just inside with Tifa, who had fallen asleep. He looked up as she came in,

"Where've you been?"

"Hanging out with a friend."

"Oh?"

"His name is Kei."

"His?!"

"Right."

"You should've brought him here. I'd like to meet him."

"It's late…He's gonna call tomorrow though."

"Good…you should invite him over."

"Okay."

She walked to the stairs, "I'm going to my room then."

"G'night."

"Night."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next night she'd invited Kei over for dinner. She was down in the bar setting the table. Tifa was cooking and Cloud was doing some cleaning. Tifa peeked out of the kitchen,

"Kyo? Could you come help me for a second?"

"Sure." She put down the stack of plates she was putting down on the table and walked back to the kitchen.

Tifa handed her a spoon, "Stir."

Kyo did as she was told and stirred the pot she was told to stir on the stove, as she watched Tifa rush around. She looked over her shoulder,

"So…You like this boy, hm?"

Kyo stopped stirring,

"Mom…"

"Seriously."

"Well, kinda…" She started stirring again, "I just met him yesterday though."

"You must've gotten to know him pretty well if you're inviting him over so soon. Especially with the rest of the crew coming over for dinner too."

"Well, dad said he wanted to meet him…"

"It's a good thing too…now we'll know if he can handle everyone, hm?"

She giggled,

"Right."

Tifa took the pan off of the stove, "You can go finish setting the table, everyone'll be here soon."

- - - - - - -

About an hour later everyone had gathered. Kei was the last one to arrive. Kyo led him downstairs,

"Everyone, this is Kei."

They all looked up. Looks of shock overtook Cloud and Tifa's faces.

Kei waved, "H-hey…"

Cid walked up and put his arm around Kei's shoulder,

"So your friends with our little Kyo, hm?"

He pulled him over to the table where Yuffie and Barret sat. Kyo tried to follow but Cloud pulled her off to the side,

"Why does he…Look so much like Zack…?

"Yeah!" Tifa exclaimed.

"He told me last night that he's Zack and Aerith's son…He was, y'know, created by Shin-Ra."

The two of them glanced at him. He was laughing along with Cid, Barret and Yuffie. Vincent sat nearby, Rena on his lap, he had his hands over her ears.

Tifa gave a nod,

"Okay, you can go back now…keep him company."

She happily went over to the table to join the laughter.

Tifa and Cloud looked at eachother,

"This is kind of a huge coincidence…" Tifa said.

"Mm…" Cloud replied, looking at Kyo, "We'll just have to keep an eye on things."

"Right."

- - - - - - -

After dinner they all sat down to talk about old times, which they'd done every time they got together, but they never seemed to tire of it.

Kyo and Kei just sat back and listened,

"So Kei…" Tifa asked.

He looked up, "Hm?"

"Kyo told us a bit about you."

"Yeah…"

"Where do you live?"

"Shin-Ra building…I've lived there all my life," He paused, "I've never met my parents…my family has been Shin-Ra scientists."

"Just know Kei, you're always welcome with us." Yuffie said smiling.

Rena giggled, "Yeah." It was obvious that she thought he was cute.

After awhile Kyo's mind started to drift from the conversation until a sharp burst of pain pulled her back. She let out a small, but audible groan. Cloud, who was sitting next to her, looked over,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…just…my arm…"

He picked up her right arm. From her pinky all the way up to her shoulder was a veiny purple bruise,

"Yikes…"

"What's up Cloud?" Barret asked from across the table.

Cloud quickly put Kyo's arm down so no one could see,

"No, I just remembered an errand I forgot to run earlier. I should go do it. Kyo, Kei, why don't you come along." He stood up.

"Okay." They both said in unison.

"Sorry guys." He walked quickly up the stairs and to the second floor, leaving everyone confused.

Cloud walked to the front door and stopped. He spun around and looked down at Kyo,

"Okay, how long has this been going on?"

"I'm not sure, it just now started hurting."

"Alright. Sadly I should probably take you to Shin-Ra…This looks like something that they'd be connected with."

"O-okay…" Kyo said, sounding a little scared.

Kei put his arm around her shoulders,

"Don't worry, it'll be okay."

Kyo nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was a short trip to the huge and looming Shin-Ra building. They walked up the stairs,

"Kei," Cloud said, "You'll have to take us to the research area, since we aren't authorized."

"Can do!"

- - - - - - -

Kei led them through the huge maze like building, until they got to the research department. When they walked in, a friendly looking scientist looked up,

"Ah, Kei. Welcome back." Then he noticed the other two. He let out a loud gasp,

"You're Cloud Strife!"

"Um, yeah."

"I'm Doctor Mada, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could have a look at my daughter's arm."

"Sure, no problem." He pulled up a chair, "Have a seat."

She walked over and sat down, taking a quick look around as she did. It was an average lab. Lots of various equipment, large round chambers for tests and smaller ones that looked to be full of Mako.

"So what seems to be the problem?"

She held up her right arm. He took it and looked at it. His eyes widened,

"Degradation…"

"What?" Cloud asked, not sure he heard right.

"I haven't seen this since project G…Her body is beginning to degrade. If I remember correctly, she has Jenova cells imbedded into her body that were taken, correct?"

"Yes."

"That would be why this is happening…most likely it started when the cells were removed, and is just now showing up on the outside. Only adding them back to her body will fix it. I can go and see if there are any here in the building if you'd like."

Cloud reluctantly agreed, not wanting her to suffer, but also not wanting her to be hunted down again. The doctor nodded and left the room.

Kei put his hand on her shoulder, "You'll be fine."

She shot a look at Cloud. He walked over to her,

"Sorry Kyo, but this is all we can do to keep it from getting worse."

"But, what if…"

"Look at me…"

She looked up at him,

"I promise…nothing will happen to you."

She looked down.

Just then Mada came back in,

"I've been informed that the Jenova cells are still here. They'll be brought down shortly."

- - - - - - -

A short time later, Rufus, along with several armed guards, including Reno and Tseng, walked into the room,

"Kyo…You feelin' okay?" Reno asked.

She was sitting with her head resting on her hand,

."I'm fine." She looked rather bored.

Rufus looked at Cloud,

"Its too bad we have to meet under these circumstances."

"I would've preferred not to meet at all."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

He snapped his fingers and one of the guards handed a box to him,

"I believe this is what you're after."

"Yeah…"

Mada was handed the box. He took a few minutes to look it over. Kyo was starting to feel a bit panicked. Kei, who was sitting next to her chair, smiled up at her.

Rufus decided he would wait here until it was done. He had to take the remaining cells and put them back into storage.

Mada finished his prep work quickly. He turned back around with a large needle in his hands. A large amount of the cells were in it. Kyo dug her fingers into the arms of the chair at the sight of it,

"Now Kyo," He said, "This isn't going to hurt nearly as much as it seems like it will."

"Right…" She said, starting to scoot her chair backward.

Cloud stepped behind it, so she couldn't move any further,

"It'll only take a minute, then it'll be all over…"

"N-no…I don't wanna do this…"

Mada walked over to her, giving her a reassuring smile,

"It'll only take a few seconds."

"No…"

"What happened to all that courage you fought Sephiroth with?"

"I'm not sure…but it sure doesn't seem to be here."

Kei put his hand on top of hers,

"C'mon, you'll die without it."

"I know…"

"I'm gonna need someone to hold her head to the side. Her jugular vein is the best place, it'll get the cells through her body quickly."

Cloud grabbed her head and pushed it to the side,

"Dad…"

"Shh…"

Mada quickly put a disinfectant on her neck and stuck the needle into the vein. Her eyes widened when she felt the sharp metal pierce her skin. She struggled a little. He quickly injected the cells and pulled the needle out, putting a piece of gauze over it, taping it there.

He cleaned up and gave the remaining cells back to Rufus,

"Sorry to take you away from your work, sir."

"Nothing to apologize for, be sure to keep a close eye on her for awhile."

"Yes, sir." He said as Rufus left along with everyone who'd come with him.

- - - - - - -

They waited about half an hour and Mada checked on Kyo every few minutes to see if she was feeling okay,

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Can I go home now?"

"I guess so, you seem alright…"

She stood up, and right away began to feel dizzy. She took two steps forward and passed out, falling forward toward the floor.

Kei caught her, "Kyo?"

"I thought this might happen." Mada said, "They're not taking to her body very well."

"What?!" Cloud demanded.

"They've been out of her body for too long. She's going to have to stay here until I can get them to take."

Cloud nodded, "I'll need to make a call."

"There's a phone in my office there." He said, pointing to a small room,

"Thanks."

He walked back and picked up the phone, knowing Tifa would be angry, but he knew he had to call her. He slowly dialed the number.

- - - - - - -

When he came back out Kyo was in a round glass tube, surrounded by blue green liquid. He ran over to Mada and Kei who were standing next to it,

"That's not…"

"It's not Mako. It's a special drug to help the Jenova cells to infuse with her body."

Cloud put his hand on the glass, "Kyo…" He said quietly, his mind drifting back to his past a bit.

"Cloud, I need you to fill out some paperwork, if you'd come with me…" Mada said.

He pried himself away from the glass and followed him out.

Kei walked up to it once they were gone. He'd spent much of his life in one of those machines. He watched her for what seemed like a long time, until a voice crept into his head,

"It's been awhile…she seems so frail now…"

"Shut up…" He whispered.

"Ka-San is with her again. We can kill her easily in her weakened state…"

"No!"

His eyes began to flicker from his own to blue green catslits.

He grabbed his head, "No! Leave me alone!"

"Too late boy…"

He froze, his body beginning to fill with rage and hatred,

"AHH!"

He fell to his knees for only a moment, then stood back up. His eyes had changed, and his hair had silver streaks in it. He walked over to the tank and looked at the controls,

"I think I'll add a little Mako. Then you can die slowly…and painfully…"

He poked a few buttons and a blue glow filled the tank,

"You can have your body back now boy. Enjoy watching her die…"

He left Kei quickly, making him drift back to his normal self.

He looked at the tank to see the Mako flowing through it,

"Ah! Kyo!"

He looked at the key pad, but had no idea what to do. The only thing he could think of was to get her out. He grabbed onto the door handle and yanked it open. The Mako poured out as Kyo fell. Kei caught her, now soaked in Mako himself. He fell down onto his knees, the Mako beginning to take effect on him too,

"Shit…that wasn't diluted at all…"

His vision started to blur. He took one last look at Kyo as he blacked out.

- - - - - - -

As Cloud and Mada made their way back, they both started to get a strange feeling. They decided it would be best to hurry back.

When they got there they found the two kids laying unconscious in a pool of glowing blue liquid.

"Mako?!" Mada exclaimed, "How?!"

Cloud ran over to them and Mada checked the control panel,

"It seems it was changed…pure Mako…Even a few seconds in something that potent could kill a person." He turned, "Get them out of the Mako, there are some beds in the next room."

Cloud did so. Mada tried to reset the machine but the button pad had been jammed. He decided to ignore it for now and went into the other room to check on the kids.

Cloud had put them next to eachother and was sitting on the edge of Kyo's bed. Mada quickly checked their vitals,

"They certainly both have extremely severe poisoning. I can't tell you when they'll wake up…I just wish I knew how this happened."

"That's not important, we just need to get them taken care of right now."

"Right."

- - - - - - -

It was a few hours before they got them situated. They were on a few drugs to help them with any pain and liquids to try and dilute the Mako in their blood. Cloud had fallen asleep in a chair between them.

Kyo slowly opened her eyes. They glowed very brightly. She tried to lift her arms up, but her body wouldn't move. She slowly blinked and glanced over at Cloud,

"T-to-San…" She forced out.

He slowly awoke and looked down at her, "Kyo…" He leaned over, "How are you feeling?"

She tried to speak but it hurt to try,

"It's okay, you don't have to speak." He put his hand on her forehead, "You've got Mako poisoning…Though you seem to be getting better pretty quickly."

Just then Mada walked into the room,

"She's already awake?"

"Yeah, she seems to be recovering pretty fast."

Kyo's eyes wandered around the room, not listening to a word they were saying. She soon spotted Kei. She tried to move, but her body refused,

"Kei…" She mouthed.

"I'll do some testing on her, see if there's a reason she's getting better so quickly."

"Right."

He picked up a needle as well as her arm, "This'll probably hurt a little."

He stuck it into her arm and pulled out some of her blood. She winced a little. Cloud smiled down at her,

"Its alright."

He finished a moment later and removed the needle, putting her arm back down in a comfortable position,

"I'll go check this out and be back."

"Thanks…" Cloud said, not taking his eyes off of Kyo.

- - - - - - -

It wasn't long before he came back,

"Cloud, I need to talk to you outside, please."

"Sure…" He looked back at Kyo, "I'll be right back."

He stood up and followed him out into the hall,

"I have the results."

"Kay."

"She's absorbing the Mako all herself. Its like her body is starving for Mako. She'll be completely recovered within 24 hours."

"What about Kei?"

"He'll be fine, his body has been conditioned for this kind of thing."

"Oh."

"We'll keep her here until she's recovered. Your daughter is a very strange case. I've never see someone like her before, her body is…weird…"

"Really?"

"Yes…I'd ask to keep her here for further testing…"

"No!"

"Wha?"

"I would never put her through that. Ever…"

"Alright…I understand. You can take her home when she feels better, until then, she should rest."

"Right," He turned, "You'd better not try to pull anything while she's here."

"I won't."

He walked back into the room. Kyo watched him as he entered,

"Nothing to worry about, we can go home tomorrow."

She tried to nod, but couldn't, but Cloud could tell.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had been a year since the Mako incident. Kyo had fully recovered by the end of the next day. Over that year the Mako she'd absorbed had made her stronger. She could now beat Cloud with ease during sparring matches. Her eyes had also grown extremely bright.

Kei and Kyo had spent a lot of time together and become very good friends. Tifa and Cloud were still keeping a close eye on Kei, still feeling that there was something strange about him.

Kyo came bounding down the stairs. She looked like she was all ready to go out. Tifa, Cloud, and the others were having a meeting in their small living room. Tifa looked up as she walked by the door,

"Where're you going?"

"Out with Kei…"

"You've been out with him everyday this week."

"Oooooo…" Yuffie said, "Is he your boyfriend now?"

"N-no…" She blushed.

Cloud picked up the Buster Sword , which was leaning against the wall next to where he was sitting, and tossed it to her, she caught it,

"What's this for?"

"Just in case, I have a feeling you might need it."

She strapped it to her back, "Okay, I'll see you all later." She left.

Tifa smacked Cloud on the arm,

"What do you mean she'll need it?"

"Don't worry, she'll have no problem defending herself if the need arises."

"But…"

"I said don't worry, now, lets get back to our meeting."

They went back to their talking. Vincent looked toward the door,

"Hmm…"

- - - - - - -

Kyo skipped down the street to meet Kei. They were meeting at the small outdoor café they'd gone to when they first met.

She got there a few minutes later to find him already waiting for her. He waved when he saw her. She quickly ran over and sat down,

"Hi." She said in a hyper and giggly voice,

"Hey."

"What're we gonna do today?"

"Dunno yet. I thought that maybe we could go for a walk."

"Okay." She smiled.

A waitress brought them the food that Kei had ordered before she'd gotten there. Strawberry shortcake for her and a sundae for himself. She went to take a bite of her cake and he reached into his pocked, pulling out a small bottle.

- - - - - - -

"You've known this girl for a year now, I want you to give her this." A man said, pulling out a small bottle of clear liquid,

"What is it?"

"A knock out drug. You're to give her this, and bring her back here to me. Mada told me about her unique body."

"Hojo-San! I can't…"

He was cut off as he was struck in the mouth and knocked to the ground,

"You dare speak to me that way?! Don't forget who brought you life! I can just as easily take it away!"

Kei just looked at him, horrified,

"Now, you'll do what I say."

"Y-yes sir…" He said, a little shaky, taking the bottle.

- - - - - - -

Kyo had finished her cake,

"I'm gonna go wash my hands really quick, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

She left the table and he opened up the bottle. He was told it didn't have any taste or smell, so he poured it into her drink. He tossed the bottle into a nearby trashcan.

Kyo came back a minute later and picked up her drink. Kei had to fight himself to keep her from taking a drink.

She chugged down the whole glass,

"Ah, ready to go?"

"Y-yeah…"

He stood up, put the money on the table, and they left.

They walked until they got to a small park. Kyo looked up at Kei,

"Can we stop…I need a rest."

"Sure…"

They sat down on a nearby bench,

"Are you okay? You…Don't look so good…"

"I'll be fine in a minute…"

Kei looked down at his feet, knowing that this wasn't the case.

"I just feel…a bit dizzy." She said as she leaned on him.

He blushed brightly. He'd begun to wish that he hadn't done what he did,

"If you want to close your eyes for a bit, it's okay."

She did right away.

He only had to wait a few minutes before he felt her go limp. He stood up and carefully picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder,

"I'm sorry Kyo…but I really have no choice…"

- - - - - - -

The next chapter is pretty long. I hope you've all enjoyed it so far


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was an incredibly long trip back to Hojo. He was waiting at the Shin-Ra Mansion in Neiblhiem. Hojo looked pleased when he walked in,

"Good job…" He grinned, "Put her over on the table, then put her weapon where she can't get to it."

"Yes, sir…" He said.

He took her over to a medical table in the center of the room, then grabbed her sword and left the room.

Hojo walked over to her, "This time…you won't escape me."

He strapped her arms and legs tightly to the table,

"This'll be fun."

- - - - - - -

Kei stood by the table, waiting for Kyo to wake up. Hojo wanted him to inform him when she awoke, he was doing research across the room. Kei was just about to leave to find something to snack on when she bolted awake. Her eyes darted around the room until they landed on Kei,

"K-Kei…What's going on…?"

"I can't explain…all I can do is say that I'm sorry…"

He backed away as Hojo walked up to her. Kei could see the immeasurable terror in her eyes. He turned around so he didn't have to watch,

"Kei…"

"Don't expect much from him, he can't help you now…" Hojo said in his high voice.

Kei tried to ignore her cries for help, but it took more effort than he could muster up,

"H…H-Hojo-San? Do you have to do this now?"

"It's kind of hard to do on a dead person…"

Kyo gasped and pulled at the straps that bound her, trying as hard as she could to free herself,

"Try as hard as you like. I've had stronger people than you here, I know better than to make them weak enough to break."

"What're you going to do?!" Kei demanded.

"Take a sample of course. You're friend Mada told me about her extremely unique body. I could easily create a masterpiece with her cells." He picked up a shiny metal scalpel, "Perhaps I should let you do this?"

Kei looked over his shoulder, "What?"

"C'mon, it's easy." He said, making a long, deep cut down Kyo's right cheek. She twitched her head to try and get away. He slowly picked the blade back up off of her skin,

"Stop it…" Kei said, almost too quietly to hear.

"What was that?" Hojo replied as he slowly turned around to face him,

"Leave her alone."

"I think not…" He motioned for him to come closer, "Come here."

"I…"

"Come here!" He yelled, beginning to lose his temper, "Now!"

Kei hesitated a moment. He didn't want to go, but he was familiar with Hojo and had become scared of him. He slowly turned and walked back to Kyo as she starred up at him helplessly.

He sighed, "What do you want me to do?"

He handed over the scalpel,

"I want you to take a sample for me."

"But I…"

"You'll do it." He said placing his hand on Kyo's upper arm, "Right here."

Kei put the blade down as carefully as he could,

"Go on, right down into the muscle."

Kyo tried once again to free herself as Kei hesitated.

Hojo growled,

"Do it now! Or I'll make you take it from her throat!"

Kyo stopped struggling when she heard this, and looked up at Kei,

"Kei…"

"Hm?" His eyes moved down to her face. She looked like she'd given up,

"Just do it…Make it quick…"

He nodded and quickly pushed the blade deep into the muscle of her arm. She let out a startled gasp. Kei quickly finished and pulled out a thin but long hunk of flesh and muscle. Hojo quickly took it from him and walked over to a shelf, putting it into a small container, then turned back to them,

"Now, the real fun begins."

He took a needle out of his inside lab coat pocket.

Kei started to back up, recognizing immediately the liquid he had in it,

"No…I don't want to hurt anyone…"

"You have no choice," He replied, "Besides, you should be happy. This is the moment you were created for. The whole reason you were brought into existence," He laughed, "Be proud of what you are!"

He suddenly pounced and jammed the needle into his neck, injecting a pale blue liquid. He quickly pulled it out. Kei put his hand up to the small hole it left there,

"That hurt…"

But Hojo hadn't hurt him, he'd gone to retrieve the Buster Sword. He put it down and leaned it against a shelf,

"You two have fun now." He said as he left, closing and sealing the door.

Kei walked the few steps back to Kyo and unstrapped her arms and legs,

"You have to go, quick!"

"I can't just leave you here."

"You have to. You….Have no choice…" He said, pain welling up in his voice.

"Are you alright?"

He looked into her eyes, "Please…go…"

She hesitantly jumped down from the table and began to walk across the room. She had just gotten her hand around the hilt of the Buster Sword when a familiar pain ripped through her. She suddenly realized what the dream had been warning her of. She looked down to see a shiny blade sticking about five feet through her body,

"Not fast enough."

"Kei…" She whispered as she fell onto one knee.

She slowly tightened her hand around the hilt of her blade,

"How dare you…"

She quickly swung the sword around, slashing him across the chest, startling him enough that he dropped his blade. She held her sword up, though her arm struggled a bit from the earlier damage.

Kei looked different. His eyes were blue green cat slits. His hair was still black, with silver streaks in it. His face was stern and cold,

"Sephiroth…"

"You remember…wonderful."

"What makes you think you can take over Kei?!"

"You seem to be under the wrong impression."

"What?!" She demanded, her legs struggling to keep her standing,

"Kei…as you call him…was simply an avatar for me. I stayed dormant until I was finally strong enough to channel myself through him. I can now get my revenge for what you did to me…"

"You're lying!"

"No my dear…I'm not. So why don't you just be a good girl…and die!"

He grabbed the blade of the sword and yanked on it until the hilt hit her back, making her stumble forward. She took another swing at him, but he dodged it, then pushed her down onto her hands and knees.

She slammed the Buster sword down on it's tip, and used it to attempt to get up. He walked up behind her,

"You'd be well advised to stay down."

He grabbed his hilt and pulled the sword out through her side, tearing through her body. She slid back down to the floor, her hand on her side,

"I bet that hurts."

"No…I'm fine…" She stood up, "Besides…I can't go down until I've taken you down…"

"Ha! Come on then!"

She swung her blade and the sheer force of it threw him across the room. He hit a shelf and then the floor, hard,

"You've gotten stronger…" He said, "Good."

He ran at her, sword up. She just barely managed to block it from hitting her face. He pushed on it as hard as he could to force her back, but she didn't budge. She gathered up all of her strength and pushed him backward onto one knee. She walked slowly to him, her sword ready in hand,

"Now you die."

She lifted her blade into the air and started to bring it down as he brought his up and thrust it through her, right above her stomach. She winced a little but continued to bring the sword down, hitting his shoulder and cutting all the way down into his chest. He slowly pulled the sword out of her and dropped to the ground.

She fell onto her knees, exhausted. She looked up to see that Kei had returned to his usual self,

"Kei!"

"Kyo…" He whispered.

He looked up at her, blood running down his face from hitting the shelf, blood was also running out of his mouth,

"You have to kill me…"

"Wha…?"

"It'll happen again if you don't…"

"I'm sure there's some way…" She stood up, "I won't kill you…"

She carefully pulled the sword out of him,

"But I will leave you here…"

She stood up and walked over to the door,

"I hope you make it…"

"Kyo…"

She pushed the keypad and opened the door. She was about to leave when she decided she just couldn't leave him there. She turned around and walked back to him. He looked up at her,

"What…are you doing…"

"C'mon…" She held out her hand, "I can't leave you here, we are friends after all."

He took her hand and she pulled him to his feet,

"Are you okay to walk?"

"I think so…" He said eyeing her, he wanted to ask her the same question.

She was standing a bit hunched over, the Buster sword dragging on the ground,

"Good…" She replied, "Lets go then…"

She walked back to the door and looked into the looming hallway beyond. Hojo was nowhere in sight. He'd gotten what he wanted and made his escape. This frustrated Kyo, but she didn't have time to think about that. They walked out and through the dark basement of the mansion, trying their best to avoid making any contact with the numerous creatures that that made it their home.

It didn't take them long to reach the upper floors. They walked out into a brightly lit room and then to the huge staircase. Kyo took a moment to rest. Her vision was starting to get a bit blurred. Kei watched her,

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I just need to rest a minute…"

"Go ahead…" Worry was starting to gather in his voice.

- - - - - - -

"Vincent!"

"Hm?" Vincent asked, he was on his phone.

Kyo had been gone all night, it was now morning and everyone was out looking for her. Vincent was sent to the place he knew best, Shin-Ra Mansion,

"Let me know right away if you find anything."

"Right, Tifa. Don't worry."

"Don't you tell me not…"

"Okay okay, I'll get back to you." He flipped his phone shut.

Everyone had been sent to different places. Tifa had come along with Vincent, but they split up when they got to Neiblhiem. He stood on the roof of the building, taking a moment to think about the best way to go about searching the place before he went inside. He was about ready to go when he saw someone run out. His eyes widened when he saw who it was,

"Hojo?!"

He jumped down from the roof and landed in front of him, pulling Cerberus out from under his cape, pointing it at his face,

"You're the one who took her, aren't you?"

"Why Vincent, so nice to see you. If you don't mind, I'm in a bit of a hurry…"

He started walking closer, "I mind…Where's Kyo?"

"Who? I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about."

"You're lying…Where is she?"

"Probably dead by now…" He said under his breath.

"What?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He smirked.

- - - - - - -

Kyo was just about ready to go when they heard loud gunshots from outside. She looked down the stairs and toward the door,

"Vincent," She turned to Kei, "C'mon."

She started down the stairs, but tripped half way down the second set and fell the rest of the way down, landing on her back at the bottom. Her sword sliding across the floor. Kei looked down over the railing at her,

"Are you okay?"

She sat herself up, "Ugh…"

Kei made his way down, careful not to make the same error she had. When he got there he helped her up,

"You didn't break anything did you?"

"I don't think so…" She took a couple of steps and stumbled, "I do feel…a bit dizzy though…"

He looked up and noticed the trail of blood going all the way down to the bottom of the stairs. He looked back at her. Her wound seemed to be progressively getting worse,

"Kyo…I think you should sit down."

"No no, I'm fine…"

"But…your wound…"

She swung around, "I said I'm fine."

She took a step forward and her legs collapsed,

"Okay…maybe it hurts a little…" She choked out, putting her hand on her side.

He knelt down next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder,

"You rest, I'll go get Vincent."

He pulled her over to a wall and sat her against it,

"I'll be right back."

He walked to the door and opened it, nearly running into Vincent and Tifa,

"Kei!" Tifa shrieked in surprise, her expression quickly changed, "What're you doing here?"

"That's really not important…" He said, his wound becoming more and more painful.

"What?"

"Just…C'mon.." He backed away from the door and they came in, spotting Kyo right away. Tifa ran over and knelt down next to her,

"Kyo."

"Ka-San…"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." She said smiling.

Kyo just looked at the floor with lifeless eyes.

Kei sat down on the stairs and Vincent stood next to him, leaning against the stair rail,

"That's some wound you have there…"

"Oh, yeah."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Not really, my body is used to this kind of thing."

"That looks like it's from Kyo's blade."

Kei froze, "I…"

"I know what you are…but…for the sake of Kyo, I won't turn you in…"

"You won't..?"

"No, but you have to figure out a way to get rid of it, or I won't let you near her again."

- - - - - - -

A short while later they decided that it would be best if they took the two of them down to the town to rest until they were well enough to be taken back to Midgar.

Kei was able to walk himself, but Vincent had to carry Kyo on his back. Tifa lead the way back to town. Kyo lifted her head off of Vincent's shoulder and looked back at Kei. He was lagging behind. He had his hand over his wound, his head down. She wanted to say something, but not in front of everyone. She laid her head back down on Vincent's shoulder and closed her eyes, it only took her a minute to fall asleep.

- - - - - - -

She awoke some time later lying on her back in a comfortable bed. She took a quick look around to find that she was in the Neiblhiem Inn. She then noticed the bed next to hers. Kei lay asleep with Zack and Aerith standing over him. Zack had his arm around Aerith's shoulders. Aerith looked up at Kyo and smiled,

"Don't worry, he'll be alright…" Her soft voice was comforting.

She turned to Zack, "We should go now."

"But, I…"

"He's going to be fine…besides, we can see him whenever we want."

"I guess you're right…"

Aerith leaned over and kissed Kei on the forehead,

"You be good."

Zack put his hand on Kei's shoulder,

"See you around."

Then they just faded away, Zack giving Kyo a little wave as they went.

Kyo sat up slowly, the pain from her wounds swelling up slowly as she did. She put her hand on her side and winced. It hurt more than she thought it would. She took a minute to regain her composure, then carefully stood up. Her legs nearly gave out when she felt the brunt of the pain, but she managed to keep herself standing. She walked the few steps to Kei's bed and looked down at him. He looked peaceful. She sighed, happy that she hadn't killed him, and upset that she'd tried to leave him in the mansion.

Suddenly his eyes popped open. Kyo jumped, startled. He blinked a few times, then sat up,

"How long've I been sleeping?"

Kyo sat down, "I dunno, I just woke up myself."

Jus then what had happened hit him,

"Are you okay?!"

"I'm sitting aren't I?"

"Oh…Right…"

They sat in silence for a long time. It was quiet in the room except for a few birds outside singing in the early afternoon sunlight.

They sat like that until they heard footsteps coming toward them up the stairs. Heavy footsteps,

"To-San…" Kyo whispered.

"What? How do you know?"

"Believe me…I know…"

She quickly stood up and jumped once again into her own bed. A barely audible squeak of pain coming from her. Kei started to go and make sure she was okay, but the door opened just before he could.

Cloud entered the room, followed by Tifa. Kyo glanced over at them, hoping they couldn't tell she'd gotten out of bed, they didn't seem to. Cloud walked over to her bed and sat down,

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine…"

"Oh?" He gave her a light jab with his finger in her side.

She doubled over from the pain, "Not so fine." He said.

"What'd you do that for?!"

"To prove you're not as tough as you look."

She slowly sat back up, trying not to cause herself anymore pain,

"When're we going home?"

"Well," Tifa started, "We had both of you examined by the town doctor, they said no travel until you're doing better."

"In other words," Cloud continued, "Not for awhile."

Kyo laid back against the pillow,

"What're we going to do until then?"

"Rest."

She looked disappointed, but didn't argue. She didn't have the energy anymore.

Cloud stood up,

"Now, get some sleep…" He glanced down at her, "And no getting out of bed."

She looked down. He walked to the door with Tifa on his heels, took one last look at them, and left. Kyo let out a long sigh. Kei laughed,

"Your Dad knows all."

"Seems that way."

- - - - - - -

It took two weeks for them to heal up enough to be able to travel. Kei's fast healing ability seemed to be gone. His wound had healed slightly slower than Kyo's.

As they healed, Cloud and Tifa took them out everyday for some fresh air. They went on long tours of the town and even got to see Tifa and Cloud's childhood homes. It was fun. They'd enjoyed their time there, but it was soon time for them to go home to Midgar.

Kei was a little sad to leave, his life would go back to Shin-Ra. Kyo told him not to worry. He could leave Shin-Ra, and someday they'd travel all over the world. The morning they left they made their way to the airship. Kei turned to take a last look at the mountain town,

"I guess our adventure's over."

"Just for now," Kyo said from behind him, "There'll be others."

"Really?"

She gave him a thumbs up, "Promise." She turned, "C'mon, lets go home."

"Right."

They quickly boarded the airship and headed back to Midgar, leaving them wondering what their next adventure would be.

--End- -

- - - - - - -

That's it, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review -


End file.
